Stable and Unstable Isotopes Name: ___________________

1. Give the daughter isotope that would be formed if the nucleus of each of the following emitted

a positron (beta particle)

a positron left the nucleus, removing +1 charge from the nucleus, but almost no mass, so the mass stays the same and the atomic number goes down by one

2. Give the daughter isotope that would be formed if the nucleus of each of the following

underwent electron emission (beta particle)

an electron left the nucleus, removing - 1 charge from the nucleus, but almost no mass, so the mass stays the same and the atomic number goes up by one

3. Give the daughter isotope that would be formed if the nucleus of each of the following

emitted an alpha particle:

an alpha particle leaves the nucleus, removing +2 charge and 4 atomic mass units, so the mass goes down by 4 and the charge goes down by 4

4. Give the daughter isotope that would be formed if the nucleus of each of the following

underwent electron capture.

An electron (- 1 ) enters the nucleus, canceling reducing the charge by one, but leaving the mass unchanged

5. What type of decay is most common in elements that have a nucleus that is too large to be stable?

6. What type of decay is most common in elements that have more neutrons than they need?

7. What two types of decay are most common in elements that don’t have enough neutrons?

8. What would the neutron to proton ratio be for the isotope shown above? ___________

9. What process would the isotope listed above need to undergo in order to become stable?

10. What daughter isotope would be formed as a result of described above? ___________

11. What would the neutron to proton ratio be for the isotope shown above? ___________

12. What process would the isotope listed above need to undergo in order to become stable? ___________

13. What daughter isotope would be formed as a result of described above? ___________